They're really not $40, that's just the MSRP. Most of them go for just a bit more than you'd probably want to pay for an average, if you know where to look. I highly recommend DVD Price Search - but if you want to take the short route, usually Deep Discount DVD tends to the have the best prices on Criterions (and free shipping to boot!).

Rumor at those Criterion forums, though, seems to indicate Criterion is gently phasing out their $29/$39 pricing patterns and easing into an appalling $39/$49 structure (which explains their rather excessive double-disc sets lately). If this turns out to be true, I'm afraid I'll have to put my foot down and refuse to buy more than one a month from these people.

I haven't seen it, but supposedly it was aimed at the special effects mavens out there. Also I recall reading an interview with one of the Criterion folks who said that the revenues from the Armageddon allowed them to fund a lot of other less-popular titles.

There's a salon interview with Criterion's Peter Becker that directly addresses the Armageddon question. (Which 2 dvd set, by the way, I have and it's great. I love the movie though.)

Here's just the start of the relevant section:

Specifically, with "Armageddon": You'd be silly to overlook blockbusters as a genre and leave them out of a film library. They drive so much. They drive tastes and shooting styles and visual references that appear all over the world in commercials and on TV as well as on movie screens. They're part of a huge cultural cross-pollination. And special effects are one of the most important aspects of a certain kind of contemporary filmmaking.

The Rock criterion is still available. When I think of visually influential blockbusters (for good or ill), I have trouble getting past The Matrix. The interview is like 4 years old now, but he has more to say following that though. Part of me wishes the answer had simply been "just to piss you off" though.

Those were the days when you actually got your $140 million dollars worth out of your production budget.

In regards to blockbuster films influencing TV commercial/music video styles (re: "Armaggedon"), I think in the majority of instances that it's the other way around. Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham being a good example, and Mark Romanek's early NIN videos were a huge influence on David Fincher when he made "Seven". In my experience, true innovation usually comes from the avant-garde/indie/short format arenas, simply because it's easier to take risks on a short or cheap project than a studio produced narrative feature.

personally i prefer dvds with a good transfer of the film and few if any bonus, presuming that this way they would be priced a bit lower. but criterion has a big network of fans who like exactly what they do, and purchase accordingly. there are a number of criterion titles i'd like to buy if i had the money, and should i ever have the money i will buy them. but for now i'll stick to the more inexpensive titles. sometimes the bfi in the uk or studiocanal in france will release the same titles for a cheaper sticker price, with fewer extras.

"but does that innovation ever really catch on to be something bigger? it doesnt quite seem possible these days (in any sort of creative endeavor). "

it depends on how you look at it. it my mind, there's no need for it to necessarily become somethi@5{te the suggestion that short films/music videos/avant-garde & experimental work are just a "warm-up" for a feature length narrative. it's kind of absurd to but a limitation of film that it has to be 90-180 minutes long with actors, dialogue & a plot. at least 50% of my favorite cinematic works don't fit into the categorization, and whenever i hear about people complaining about a lack of innovation in film, it's usually because all they watch are feature length narratives.

but as for the idea of the innovation in these works not "catching on" in the mainstream, you simply have to look around you to see their influence: magazines, billboards, popular films and music, even architecture. it's everywhere, and most of the good, innovative feature filmmakers will be the first to admit that they've been influenced by someone like michel gondry, spike jonze, jem cohen, etc.

Like I said... I'd expect these three-disc sets to become something of a norm. This is the third in the space of a half year, whereas the first roughly five years of Criterion DVDs brought only one (Brazil).

short cuts two-disc set (with reprint of the carver book!) and the fanny and alexander two- AND five-disc sets coming out in november (like with scenes from a marriage, the television and theatrical versions are both getting a release).

how does Night on Earth stand against Stranger Than Paradise? I just watched the former over the weekend, was OK - hate Benigni with a passion, though. I liked the Winona/Gena and the Helsinki section a lot more than the others. I know STP isn't episodic and it's supposed to be great - missed a 35mm screening last year - should I hold off on renting the DVD from the video store?

ooh ok gotcha, I got anthology & episodic mixed up. didn't know STP was either, assumed it was like Down by Law for some reason. slow is fine at home. I'll hold off, you watch enough DVDs and Blu-Rays at home and the difference can be pretty severe. I appreciate how much Jarmusch supported and advocated for Aki Kaurismäki early on - it was so great to see Matti Pellonpää and three of AK's other regulars in the last section of NOE.

It’s been years, but STP is a league above NoE in my opinion, JJ when he was hungry and at a creative peak, as opposed to the latter, which just tries to get by on star power. It may have worked better as a short than a feature? Anyway rent it

We're so excited! The Criterion Channel, our new streaming service for movie lovers, will launch April 8 in the U.S. & Canada! As a Charter Subscriber, you can start watching *right now* with our Movie of the Week series! Come join us! ✨📺 https://t.co/UjYZMW1W3cpic.twitter.com/bPHA9hwSA3— Criterion Channel (@criterionchannl) January 30, 2019

xp Simon: Optimum Home in the UK has a well regarded Inland Empire release for £8.

There are enough UK releases of the exact same transfer as on Criterion, often for a third the price (after VAT is deducted and shipping), that its paid for my multi-region player many times over. Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy for £13, for example. I love what Criterion does with its world exclusives, on pre-1980 titles, but their price point isn't competitive for more recent releases. Region A art film fans are a bit screwed on prices and title availability.

Anyone want the DVDs of Seventh Seal/Wild Strawberries/Through a Glass Darkly/Winter Light/Silence/Persona/Hour of the Wolf/Shame/Cries and Whispers? They're in discsox sleeves and the boxes are in the attic of my estranged mother, so they're pretty much unsellable, but I'll send them for postage. I've passed most of the R1 DVDs I've upgraded to my sister, but there's zero chance she'd enjoy these.

the Bergman set is worth every penny. happy y'all could get it for relatively cheap (I think I pre-ordered it for ~$190 on Amazon). it's an amazing art object on its own, and while I don't think it's the last gasp of physical media, it would be a fitting and worthy end if that bleak future comes to pass.

I got the Dietrich & von Sternberg set and Berlin Alexanderplatz on BR.

along with others... several others... slightly embarrassed how intoxicated these flash sales make me...

oh yeah and the Wenders trilogy & Varda box are great. I thought Wrong Move was stunning, and sits high above the other two imo. Kind of a weird match, it's very different in many respects. reminded me a lot of Antonioni.

My bandwidth is ~80 Mbps, and still no streaming is as good as a Blu. When I upgraded to a 1080p projector on a 110" screen I really started to notice resolution. I know that streaming will become competitive soon, but we're living in a short window where we can have the best, at a lower cost (if happy to buy used discs); and still scratch the itch to become curators.

Cohen puts out Wind Will Carry Us, and if its like the other Cohen Media Group/Film Collection releases, its a bit better on transfer and a bit worse on extras than Criterion. If I had a choice whether I'd prefer Cohen or Criterion to put out the balance of, say, Claire Denis's backcatalogue on Blu-ray, I'd lean Cohen.